The K Handshape

by Maureen Jennings

  “Could you see anybody in the room?”

  “No. Not unless they were standing right in the window. But I swear to you, I’d have heard. That kid can bellow when she wants to… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I’ve already got a form for possession and I didn’t want to go there again.”

  “I’ll need the name of your dealer.”

  “Yeah, yeah. He’s a creep anyway.”

  She gave me the name — Eric Jones — somebody, as they say, known to the police. I’d be glad to nail him. I had one more question before we hung up.

  “Nora, you said a couple of times that you were hired. That’s not the same as pitching in for free rent. Which is it?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I don’t know, I’m just curious.”

  “He hired me. The doc.”

  “Dr. Forgach?”

  “Yeah. Dee wouldn’t have anything to do with him and he wanted to know what was happening. I was what you might call the mole.” She laughed. “Can’t you just see us meeting in underground parking garages so I could give him my report?”

  “Is that what you did?’

  “Naw, course not. I phoned him every so often. Not that there was anything to report, just domestic stuff, like you know, Joy had a cold, Dee had a new class at the institute. That sort of thing.”

  “Did you know that Sigmund came to see her on Monday night?”

  “No, that’s my night to go to my support group. But you know I’d had a suspicion she’d got somebody coming over. She primped up a bit and got Joy’s hair washed and cut. So it was the bro, was it?”

  “It was.”

  We hung up. I put Bertie down. I felt slightly queasy that I’d outed Leo. It seemed a sad way to have to know what was happening in the lives of somebody you cared about.

  Back to the abduction.

  Was this all one huge coincidence? Did Hannah just have incredible luck or had she known Jonesy was going to call Nora out of the house? What would she have done if that hadn’t happened? Knocked Nora over the head? Pretended she was taking Joy for a walk? I was inclined to believe she had a connection with the dealer and had set him up to phone Nora. Good. We could lean on the slimy bastard with threats of accessory to unlawful confinement charges. I picked up the phone and called Ed. Aileen answered and didn’t sound too pleased to have to bring him to the phone as he was having a late dinner. But hey, that was the policeman’s lot. And the lot of the policeman’s wife.

  I told him the latest bit of news and he said he’d have a cruiser over to visit Jonesy right away. If there was anything else to tell me he’d call, otherwise, he suggested I get off to bed. Given our suspects, he still thought Joy would be unharmed and I agreed with him. I would just like to be absolutely sure we weren’t barking up the wrong tree and that Hannah Silverstein wasn’t just off doing what she said she was going do. Getting some R and R. Then the horror was, who had Joy?

  I put that thought away as best I could. I munched on my granola, not the best meal in the world but the only thing to eat before bed. One more call. I had to see what was happening with Paula. I phoned and Mrs. Jackson answered.

  “Chris, she’s gone to bed. She said to tell you if you called that she was doing fine and do you want to come over for breakfast tomorrow?”

  “Yes, I do, and is she? Doing fine, I mean?”

  Mrs. J. sighed. “It could be worse. I think she’s got so much to worry about that in a funny way, Craig’s buggering off like this has gone on the back burner. But not on mine it hasn’t. I intend to give that man a piece of my mind when he deigns to come back.”

  “Hey, you’ve got to stand in line.”

  “I mean, how could he do this to her, Chris?”

  I had no answer and it was a plea I’d heard from heartbroken parents before. Those situations were far worse of course but it boiled down to the same thing, one human being who was incapable of empathizing with any other person. Which made me think of Joy. If Hannah and Zach had taken her, for whatever reason, they were revealing a serious level of callousness.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked her.

  “All right. It cheers me up to have time with Chelsea and the boys have been wonderful. They call me almost every hour on the hour.”

  Paula’s brothers were all into their fifties by now but Marion always called them the boys.

  “How’s the case coming along? You sound exhausted.”

  How did she detect that? I’d made a point of putting on a chipper voice. I told her what had been happening since we last talked.

  “I know what you mean about them being callous, Chris, but at least that poor little child will have somebody to communicate with her. Maybe that’s why they’ve taken her. She’s one of their own.”

  I held that idea to my chest for comfort. We chatted a bit more, then hung up.

  I got the cats and crawled into bed.

  Before I even got over to Paula’s Sunday morning, there was a series of phone calls.

  The first was from Leo.

  “I know I’m supposed to be bonding with Sigmund and repairing the past, but I tell you, Chris, I’ve had it with the yin-yang. I don’t know how I spawned somebody whose values, interests, and appetites are the antithesis to mine.”

  I risked a joke. “You mean he hates opera?”

  That actually got a laugh out of him. “He loathes it. I wouldn’t mind that so much but he’s trying to pretend he doesn’t. It’s horrible. He’s got no spine.”

  “You’re probably scaring him to death. Pretend he’s a patient, be nice.”

  “My patients are all psychopaths. Surely you’re not saying my own flesh and blood is psychopathic?”

  Now he was having a joke. We did an update. I had to tell him about Nora and the dealer. He was less upset than I’d thought he’d be.

  “I suspected as much. So in other words, the window of opportunity has expanded somewhat?”

  “Yes. I’d say we can tack on at least another twenty-five minutes before she actually went inside the house.”

  “I suppose all we can do now is wait?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  He invited me over for dinner, which I refused, saying I was spending the day with Paula, and I went back to finishing my shower. Not to be. Next call was from Katherine. Meeting tomorrow at nine. How was I? And so on.

  I’d barely dried off when there was another call. Jessica reported no further word from Hannah, and all the circle of friends were pleading ignorance of her whereabouts.

  Next was Ed reporting on the encounter with Jonesy. “He claims that Nora called him asking for weed and said she wanted it right away. He called back and arranged the drop like she said. The only problem is that Nora swears she didn’t call him at two o’clock. She says it was much earlier, maybe as early as one. Back to him and he said he makes a point of not recognizing voices. And yeah it might have been some other bitch but he gets a lot of calls, don’t he?”

  “Good witness.”

  “He’s going down with this one, Chris. I’ll make sure he does.”

  “So it looks like we’re dealing with somebody who knew Jones and knew Nora’s connection with him. Which in my books brings us back to Hannah. Deidre might have told her.”

  “That’s still our most likely scenario, and her partner is Zachary Taylor, who now cannot be found.”

  “A camper is a good place to hide a child. It’d be a bit cramped but they can keep her inside most of the time.”

  “We’ve warned all border crossings and the highway patrol guys but it’s my gut feeling they haven’t gone too far. It’s easier to hide if they’re not on the move.”

  “Any progress on Deidre’s case?”

  “None. We’re doing door to door but so far everybody was sealed up tight on Tuesday night, watching the Sopranos. Bad guys are fascinating if you don’t have to deal with them all day. Then they are the boring ignorant heartless pieces of shite we know them to be.”

 
“Copy that.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  I finally got hold of Barbara Cheevers. She sounded harried and I could hear a baby wailing in the background.

  “Er, would you hold for a moment?”

  While I waited I walked over to the window. It had stopped raining and a thin sickly sun was struggling with heavy overcast. Looked like a losing battle to me.

  Barbara returned. “So sorry. She’s teething. Miss Morris, I wonder if it would be possible to meet you in person? I have some papers that would be easier to explain if you could see them. Frankly, I think I need a breath of fresh air, not to mention a coffee. My husband says he is willing to hold the fort for a short while. Would you be free in, say, ten minutes to meet me at the Tim Hortons on West Street?”

  I hesitated. I didn’t want to deprive the poor woman of her mental health break but I was expected to be at Paula’s by now.

  “Can you give me some idea what this is about?”

  The baby noises were if anything worse. Mrs. Cheevers didn’t seem to have anywhere else to go. I repeated what I’d said.

  “You wanted to know if we had had any complaints from residents about, er, inappropriate behaviour. Well, I spoke to Avril Bentley who is now the supervisor for all the retirement homes in the city and she said there were a couple that I thought you might like to know about…” Her next words were drowned out. “Will you hold on for a moment?”

  When she came back to the phone I said. “Ten minutes at Tim Hortons.”

  I phoned Paula’s as I was on the move. She sounded very stressed out.

  “Come as soon as you can.”

  As promised, I reached the Tim Hortons in ten minutes but Barbara Cheevers must have run out of the house and not stopped until she was sitting down at a table. She even had a coffee and a doughnut in front of her. When I entered she waved at me and I slid into the molded plastic chair across from her.

  “Do you want to get a coffee?” she asked. She had the hollow-eyed look of a sleep-deprived mother and she was in mufti, a tatty sweater and jeans.

  “I wouldn’t mind. Be right back.”

  Tim’s was, bless its Canadian socks, busy, as people lined up anxious to get their gloom-chasing fix of caffeine and sugar. I joined the lineup, which was moving fast as relentlessly cheerful women, all of them well into middle age, took orders. I got my large black coffee and a coconut-sprinkled donut that I couldn’t resist. As I headed back to join Barbara, a well-turned-out woman entered the café. It had started to rain as expected and she was shaking out her umbrella. She smiled at me.

  “Good morning, Miss Morris.”

  For a moment I didn’t recognize her out of context and also she was wearing a smart coat and a red hat. It was Mrs. Scott. She was with a man, also well-turned-out. I presumed this was her husband and they were on their way to church. I returned her greeting and continued on my way. I had just sat down when my cell buzzed. Leo’s name showed on the call display. I sighed. I wasn’t in the mood to play family counsellor; I wanted to talk to Barbara Cheevers and get on over to Paula.

  I barely had time for a greeting when he said, “Chris, they’ve located the camper van. You were right; they didn’t go far. Would you believe they are in the trailer park on the other side of the narrows?”

  “And Joy? Is she with them?”

  “We don’t know yet. Ed has moved his officers to the vicinity but he’s being absolutely careful. We don’t know if this is a dangerous situation or not. Nobody has approached them yet. Ed is on his way, and given the circumstances, I’m going too. I’m actually waiting outside right now to be picked up.” He paused and I knew what was coming next. “Chris. Will you come? At the very least you can keep me from killing those two bastards. But you’ve got some relationship with both the guy and the girl. If we need anybody to talk to them, you can.”

  “Of course I’ll come but we’ll need an interpreter or we’re dead in the water.”

  “Shit, of course. We’d better roust out the Manolo girl.”

  “Leo, just a minute, I have another possibility. I’ll call you back.” I held up my finger to Barbara, who was looking at me with curiosity, and went over to Mrs. Scott, who had just been served.

  “Mrs. Scott, may I have a word with you?”

  Rather startled, she nodded and I led her over to a corner of the room where we could speak in privacy. I told her as succinctly as I could what we suspected had happened and that I needed her help.

  “Of course I’ll come. Let me just tell my husband.”

  While she did that, I clicked back to Leo. “I’ll be there right away. I’ve got Mrs. Scott, I’ll explain later.”

  Barbara Cheevers was waiting patiently at the table.

  “I’m so sorry but I’ve got an emergency to deal with, I’ll have to get back to you.”

  She reached down into her briefcase, which was the only vestige of her workday world she had about her. “Take these with you. I think they’re clear enough. I’ll be at my office tomorrow, all being well.” She gave a wry grin. “Teeth take precedence.”

  I grabbed the folder and hurried over to Mrs. Scott and we went out to my car.

  “I cannot believe Hannah would do anything to harm that child,” she said. “She’s her godmother and I know she doted on her. Why would she abduct her?”

  “We don’t know with complete certainty that she has, but everything points in that direction. We believe she is with Zachary Taylor. The police have located his camper van on the other side of the narrows. Needless to say we are treating the situation with extreme caution.”

  Henley Trailer Park was off the main road that led to Casino Rama, where even on a Sunday morning there was a steady stream of hopefuls heading in that direction. As I approached the turnoff, I saw a cruiser ahead of me. It slowed down to make the turn and I could see Leo was in the front seat. He must have noticed me in the side mirror because he swivelled around and gave a curt wave.

  I’d only been to the trailer park once before when we’d been called in to look at a possible arson case. Several trailers had been set alight. All the occupants were attending a dance at the community centre, so nobody had been hurt, but the result was devastating. It turned out the arsonist was a ten-year-old boy with major mental health problems. He said later he liked to see the flames eating up the trailers and he liked even more to see the firefighters putting out the blaze. He was in a correctional facility for juveniles now and I shuddered to think he’d be out in the near future.

  What I remembered about the place was that there was a long road in with twists and turns. We soon came up to a bend and there were five or six cruisers parked to the side and one blocking the road. Ed, bless him, had had the forethought to have all the flashers turned off. Our suspects might not be able to hear us but they might pick up flashing lights reflecting off the rain.

  I pulled up, asked Mrs. Scott to stay in the car, and got out. Ed was leaning against his cruiser, talking to Leo. He smiled at me and I thought there was relief in his eyes.

  “Chris. I was just saying to Dr. Forgach that we have to be careful. We don’t know what we’re dealing with and the last thing we need is to scare anybody into doing something dangerous.”

  “And I was saying,” said Leo impatiently, “this is my own grandchild we’re talking about. Both you and I don’t think the threat level is high. I want to just walk up to the door and talk to them, or whatever passes for communication with these damn people. You can keep your officers on the ready but I just don’t think we’ll need the cavalry. Tell him, Chris.”

  I spoke to Ed. “Have there been any sightings?”

  “No, but we can hear the generator running and there are lights on in the trailer so somebody’s home. Come, I’ll show you. Dr. Forgach, I understand your concern but I would prefer you to remain here for the moment.”

  Ed was not a loud-voiced guy like Franklin but when he meant business there was no mistaking it. Besides, Leo was still a professional and he knew
he could be a liability. He gave a nod.

  I followed Ed down the track. Years ago, somebody had built a stone fence around the property that later became the trailer park, and although it was crumbling in places, there were still long intact stretches. The road went through the open gateway and dipped down through fields to the waterfront. On both sides were stands of thick evergreens that afforded an excellent cover.

  “This way,” said Ed. He was speaking softly. We assumed our subjects wouldn’t hear us but you never knew who was with them. We stepped through tangled weeds that were choking a gap in the wall. I was glad I’d put on my winter boots, as the ground was soaked. Ed moved cautiously up to the rise of the hill and stopped. He handed me a pair of binoculars.

  “Down there.”

  The lot was deserted; November isn’t a favourite time for RVs and Henley’s had nothing to offer except space. But there nestled in the corner close to the treeline was a blue and white camper van. I looked through the binoculars, and as I did so, the rear door opened and Zachary himself climbed out. He lifted his arms and I saw Joy jump from the step so he could give her a big swing to the ground. Hannah was behind her and she came down as well. I felt such a flood of relief at seeing them, my legs actually felt shaky. Zachary took Joy by one hand and Hannah by the other and they started to walk away from the camper. Joy was wearing her canary yellow raincoat and matching boots. I realized they were headed for a playground at the far end of the lot. A happy family if ever I saw one.

  “What do you recommend?” Ed asked.

  “I think Leo is right. But I don’t think it should be him who talks to them. I’ll go.”

  “Chris, are you sure?”

  “No … but let’s put it this way. We’re not going to communicate with them by loudspeaker and we certainly don’t want to frighten the child. Mrs. Scott is a civilian so we can’t involve her yet. But Joy and I did all right before. Let’s hope the magic works now.”